Idyllwild’s Newest Canine Mayor: Mayor Max III

By Larissa Salazar

Did you know that the first mayor to ever hold office in Idyllwild, California, was a dog? The first Mayor Max—full name Maximus Mighty-Dog Mueller—was elected in June 2012, beating out thirteen other dogs and two cats in the race for mayor. Idyllwild Animal Rescue Friends (ARF) sponsored the election and allowed residents to cast their votes with a $1 donation. The election raised $31,000 for ARF, with $21,142 coming in from Mayor Max supporters. With two-thirds of the vote, Maximus Mighty-Dog Mueller—Max I— secured the position of mayor. Sadly, his term ended abruptly with his death after just nine months in office.

Max’s “owners,” Phyllis Mueller and her husband Glenn Warren—Max’s Chiefs of Staff, as they’re known around town—adopted three new puppies, all with familial ties to the original Mayor Max I. One of those puppies became Mayor Max II, while the other two, Mitzi and Mikey, became deputy mayors. After nine years of loyal service to the residents of Idyllwild, Mayor Max II passed away unexpectedly of cancer in July 2022. Phyllis and Glenn adopted two beautiful golden retriever puppies from Golden Havoc Kennels in Payson, Utah: Mayor Max III and Meadow. Residents and business owners alike appreciate the unbridled enthusiasm Mayor Max stirs up in the unincorporated city of Idyllwild, fueled by those two Chiefs of Staff, who have devoted their lives to helping Mayor Max spread goodwill to the citizens and visitors to his hometown of Idyllwild. Today, Phyllis and Glenn live happily at home with their four dogs. Max III and Meadow are five months old and absolutely thriving, and Mikey and Mitzi are ready to show them the ropes of serving as Idyllwild’s mayoral team. I had the opportunity to chat with Phyllis and ask her all about

Max III and what it’s been like so far to raise the next mayor of Idyllwild.

When was the last time you had a puppy in the house? How is it to have puppies now?

When Max I died, I went and got three puppies: Mitzi, Mikey, and Max II. I had three puppies then, and that was great. So, 2013 was the last time I had puppies, but I’m really good with them. I’m a dog lover! No issues. Now, I have two new puppies (Max III and Meadow) and two adult dogs (Mitzi and Mikey) who are just like puppies. Because I’m an experienced dog owner, and dog lover, it’s no issue. It’s fun, fun, fun!

Does he have a special training regimen to ensure his friendliness and mayoral abilities?

No, I don’t really have a training regimen for my dogs.

What I do, and what I’ve always done, is I let my dogs be dogs. I do not train that out of them. If they want to jump on you, they’re going to jump on you. If you don’t want a dog to jump on you, I won’t have my dog over near you. I let them be dogs. Because of that, if you met Mitzi and Mikey right now, who are going to be 10 years old in May, you’d see they’re just like my two puppies. They have not settled down at all. I love that because they are naturally the way they were born to be. I let them run. I let them chew. I let them dig. I let them play. I just let them be themselves!

Just like Mayor Max I and Mayor Max II, Mayor Max III has special qualities about him. In fact, I just had some visitors here today and they couldn’t stop telling me how much Mayor Max III is just like Max II! I’m pretty sure I have something related to reincarnation going on here. I